Bacon-Pancakes (Gluten, Dairy, Soy, and Nut Free)

My new favourite meal is Bacon Pancakes.

I ne'er thought such combination would taste so exquisitely delicious!

Recipe:

1 slice Smoked Hickory Bacon, cut in half (start cooking it right away. I like my bacon soft, barely crunchy)

1/4 c + 1 T Betty Crocker's GF All-Purpose Flour

Scant 1/8 t Baking Powder

Scant dash of Salt

1 & 1/2 T Truvia (or sugar)

Dump/Dash of Cinnamon

(Blend all the dry ingredients well)

4 Egg Whites (or 2 whole eggs)

2 T Earth Balance Butter and Bacon Fat (melted in the pan and then pour into the bowl of mixed dry ingredients, where the whisking of wet and dry ingredients happens)

Once  all ingredients are smooth and blended, pour over bacon. Use back of spoon to spread it out over and around the bacon evenly.

The pancake batter is very thick. You could add more liquid of some sort to thin it our if you refer your pancakes thin. I, however, prefer mine thick, so I have not tried thinning out the batter. That would be your experience to report.

After you pancake is cooked, you eat it obviously, but I have no experience eating it with anything on top of it, because I like plain and simple. That is they way of my tastebuds. So once again, that will be your adventure - to enhance the flavour in whichever direction you want it...???

I mean what could wrong with bacon flavoured pancakes?

...maybe that's a dangerous question to ask....

Jacked Up Wolverine Workout - Thursday's Arms & Chest

The Wolverine Workout Thursday Routine – Chest & Arms

The workout really is doable if broken up into sections over 2-3 days if your schedule doesn't allow this kind of training. 

Or you could just not do some of the sections, like Strengthening Circuit or the MMA Training. You could just do the Tabata Interval Warm-Up and 1-2 Sets of Strengthening or something else you want to do? Run? Bike? Even just doing the 8min Tabata and calling it good for the day works on your busier or lazy days. I mean, at least you're trying right? It's definitely a start! [=

At any rate, here are my times for the different sections in the workou.

Thur (Jan 29) = 111min

Warm-up = 14min

5min Rest

Circuit 1: Total = 63min

1st Strength Round 10:30min

4min Rest 

1st MMA Round (R. Roundhouse Kick) 5min

2nd Strength Round 8:30min

4min Rest 

2nd MMA Round (L. Roundhouse Kick) 5min

3rd Strength Round 8:30min

4min Rest 

3rd MMA (Roundhouse Kick to Side Forearm Block to Palm Strike) 5min

4th Strength Round 8:30min

4min Rest

14min MMA

11min Yoga n Stretch

12min Tabata Interval Warm-Up: 1min High 30sec Low for 8 Rounds

1st Round - Burpee Kick-Through 

2nd Round - Row 

3rd Round - Spider-Man Burpee

4th Round - L. Single-Arm KB Swing

5th Round - Plank Twist Burpee

6th Round - R. Single-Arm KB Swing

7th Round - Dive Bomber Burpee 

8th Round - Jump Squats 

5min Rest

Strengthening Circuit: Do 4 Rounds

6 reps (Heaviest) + 6 reps (lighter but can barely do) Shoulder Press 

Incline Dumbbell Press Supersets (4 sets of 6 at 3 different degrees of motion):

6 reps Steep Incline Dumbbell Press

6 reps Standard Incline Dumbbell Press

6 reps Flat Bench Dumbbell Press

10 reps Flys 

10 reps Narrow Grip Bench Press 

8 reps Triceps Press

8 reps Dips 

8 reps Triceps Press

8 reps Diamond Pushups  

4min rest

5min Rounds (1st Roundhouse/Spin Hook Kick; 2nd Front Kick to Spin Hook Kick; 3rd Spin Hook Kick)

Cardio For Thursday:

4min Rest (after completing the strengthening circuit)

14min Round (7min each side) (build on if bored)

                to 1st BG R. Hollow-Out to R. Hook punch to L. Cross Punch to R. Round Kick to R. Double Elbow Strike to L. Overhead Hammer Strike 

                to 2nd BG L. Back Kick to L. Forearm Block to R. Uppercut (stomach) to Double R. Knee then spin 

               to 2nd BG (front) Duck & Forearm Block to Side Kick to Forearm Block to Front Kick (in opposite Fighting Stance)

11min Rest n Yoga

Jacked Up Wolverine Workout - Back & Biceps - Wednesday

The quick look at my time for this Wolverine Workout is...

Wed (Jan 28) = 104.5min

Warm-up = 8min

Circuit 1: Total = 49:30min

1st Strength Round 6:30

4min Rest 

1st MMA Round (Side Kick and Spin Side Kick) 5min

2nd Strength Round 6min

4min Rest 

2nd MMA Round (Spin Side Kick to Side Hammer to Front Hammer) 5min

3rd Strength Round 5min

4min Rest 

3rd MMA Round (Cover&Advance to Palm to Spin Side Kick) 5min

4th Strength Round 5min

4min Rest

32min MMA

11min Yoga n Stretch

So, originally I was thinking, "Oh, yea! This will be a shorter workout than the other two!"

Haha!

That's funny, Hannah!

Ah, well! I once again feel victorious!

Warning: I might be using the word "victorious" a bit more, especially since I've never been so consistent with such long workouts without dying. It really is a great endurance challenge and has lots of strength challenges in the beginning with the circuit - which is the most strenuous part.

It's totally worth it!

The Wolverine Workout Wednesday Routine – Back & Biceps

8min Tabata Warm-Up: 50sec Hard 10sec Rest

1st Round - Jump Rope.                                5th Round - Mt Climbers 

2nd Round - L. Single-Arm DB Swing            6th Round - Plank Jacks 

3rd Round - R. Single-Arm DB Swing            7th Round - Planks Twists 

4th Round - Burpee                                       8th Round - Spider-Man Planks

 1min Rest 

Do 4 Sets:

12 reps Pull-Ups 

12 reps Dumbbell Rows (20lbs)

10 reps Bodyweight Rows (20lbs)

10 reps Incline Dumbbell Curls (15lbs)

8 reps Zottman Bicep Curls (15lbs) 3rd n 4th time used 10lbs)

8 reps Cross Body Curls (4 each side) (15lbs)

8 reps Pronated Curls (15lbs)

4min Rest and Stretch

5min MMA Techniques (1st Side Kick and Spin Side Kick; 2nd Spin Side Kick to Side Hammer to Front Hammer; 3rd Cover&Advance to Palm to Spin Side Kick)

4min Rest

(Notice, 24min of cardio done already) ;]

The Wolverine Workout Cardio For Wednesday = 32min (below)

10 min MMA Fight Combo: 

building off of the "Cover&Advance to Palm to Spin Side Kick" from above

2min Rest

20min Fight Combo: Two-Sided MMA Knife Fight w/2 Bad Guys

          Starting Stance: R. Front Stance w/Reversed Knife in Back L. Hand

          Combo: to 1st BG (in front) R. Overhead Block n Duck, L. Knife Hook & L. Reverse Knife Strike (to groin) and L. Front Kick

                        to 2nd BG (behind) L. Reverse Side-Hammer Knife Strike and R. Roundhouse and R. Reverse Elbow Strike and L. Overhead (reversed) Hammer Knife Strike

                        to 3rd BG (behind) Duck, Side Kick, Reversed Knife Hammer Strike to Palm Strike to Knife Hook to Uppercut to Double Knee Strike

Cool-Down:

11min Yoga and Stretch

***note: I do use a fake, special, "Training Knife" not a real one.

Jacked Up Wolverine Workout - Legs and Abs - Tuesday

The Wolverine Workout Tuesday Routine – Legs & Abs

The Quick Review on my timing for this workout:

Tues (Jan 27) = Total = 99:30min

Warm-up = 8min

Definitely feel free to break up this workout into 2-3 days or cut reps or cut sets to make it work with your schedule!

The Workout:

Circuit 1: Total = 54:30min

1st Strength Round 7min

10min Rest n MMA Practice (like Back Kicks)

2nd Strength Round 6min

10min Rest n MMA Practice 

3rd Strength Round 6min

10min Rest n MMA Practice 

4th Strength Round 5:30min

5min Rest 

22min MMA Knife Fight Combo

10min Yoga and Stretch

I did not want to do the yoga and stretching, in anyway whatsoever. But I did, cause reminded myself that my limbs and what-not would feel better for it.

THE JACKED UP WOLVERINE WORKOUT - legs and abs

8min Tabata Cardio Warm-Up: 8 Rounds of 50 sec Hard, 10 sec Rest

Do:

Jump Rope

Skaters

Row (15lbs)

KB Swing (30lbs)

Repeat

Circuit [Do 4 sets]:

12 Reps Hanging Leg Raises (or Lying Down Leg Raises)

10 Reps Plank-ups

10 Reps Back Squat (two 20lbs dumbbells)

10 Reps Front Squat (two 20lbs dumbbells)

10 Reps Lunge (5 each side)

14 Reps Weighted Calf Raise (20lbs dumbbells)

10 Reps Hanging Knee Raises (or Resisted Frog Press)

10 Reps Decline Resisted Sit-Ups (or Weighted V-Ups - w/20lb dumbbell)

5min Rest

5min MMA [1st Back Kick, 2nd (R.Dagger & L. Flipped Knife) R. Back Kick to R. Reverse Elbow to L. Overhead-Hammer, 3rd add duck (to front BG) to L. Overhead-Forearm Block to R. Uppercut-Dagger]

5min Rest (only after completing 4sets, rest before the long cardio)

The MMA (Cardio) Workout For Tuesday = total of 22min

22min Fight Combo: Three-Sided MMA Knife Fight w/5 Bad Guys

          Starting Stance: L. Front Stance with Knife in back right Hand

          Combo: to 1st BG (in front) L. Overhead Forearm Block to R. Knife Uppercut & Front Kick

                        to 2nd BG (behind) R. Reverse Knife-Hammer Block, & R. Side Kick & R. Knife-Hammer Strike and L. Overhead-Hammer Strike 

                        to 3rd BG (in front) L. Side Kick & L. Elbow Strike & R. Hammer 

                        to 4th BG (in L. Behind) R. Flip Knife in R. Hand to Backwards Jab and Back Kick

                        to 5th BG (behind) R. Reverse Knife-Hammer Strike, R. Side Kick, L. Roundhouse to 2 L. Elbow Strikes to R. Overhead Hammer-Knife Strike

Jacked Up Wolverine Workout - Arms and Chest - Sunday

I was inspired by one of Hugh Jackman's Wolverine workout plans. He changes up his workout plans for each film to challenge himself in different ways. I do no remember which Wolverine film he was preparing for when he did this workout with the trainer, David Kingsbury.

"The Wolverine Workout Monday routine starts with a Chest & Arms workout, followed by 45 minutes of low-impact cardio on an empty stomach. The key is that do weightlifting and cardio before the first meal of the day to burn fat."

Here is the link to read the full article: http://www.popworkouts.com/hugh-jackman-workout-wolverine/

 

Now, in my version, I did not do it till the afternoon and I did it on Sunday, but that's ok. Also I turned the weight lifting section into a strengthening-cardio. Because I am going through all of the exercises in that circuit as fast as I can (in a slow and controlled way), while still keeping good form and only giving myself enough seconds of recovery between each exercise. Thus, upping the calorie torch.

After completely all those exercises, I rest and maybe do a little stretching and drink some water, and then do 4min of resting/cardio (I practiced Mixed Martial Arts. You could continue to rest). - This all equals 1 Set. 

Depending on your fitness level you could do more. I did 4 sets, cause that is what Hugh Jackman did and I believed I was fit enough to do so. Granted, after the 1st set I mentally wanted to be done, but I pushed myself, and then had the mentality of stubburn refusal to give up. Resulting to an accomplished feeling of getting my goals done.

I confess, the 2min rest was NOT enough though. Because, when I was trying to practice my Spinning Side Kick in the 4min following rest - boy was I sloppy! So if I want my technique to be good, I need to let my body recover more from the exertion. Next time, I'm tacking on 2-4 more minutes of rest before my 4min resting/cardio, which is completely optional for any level. Meaning you don't even have to do the 4 min cardio part between sets, just rest, stretch, drink, water, let your body recover, whatever.

Sunday Workout of Arm and Chest (and calves)

Warm-Up:

8min Tabata Jump Rope Warm-Up: 50sec Hard 10sec Rest (Do 8 Rounds)

1st Round - Jump Rope.                                5th Round - Jumping Jacks

2nd Round - Jump Rope.                               6th Round - Jack Squats

3rd Round - High Jump Rope.                       7th Round - Jump Rope 

4th Round - High Knee Jog Jump Rope        8th Round - Jump Rope (Arm-Switch)

Circuit 1a [Do 4 sets]:

10 reps Dumbbell Bench Press (30lbs)

10 reps Dumbbell Shoulder Press (15lbs)

10 reps Dumbbell Behind-the-Neck Press (15lbs)

5min Rest n Stretch (instead of 1min)

4min MMA (1st Side Kick, 2nd L. Spin Side Kick, 3rd R. Spin Side Kick, 4th Spin Side Kick both sides)

Circuit 1b [Do 3 sets]:

10 reps Cuban press (15lbs)

10 reps Dips 

12 reps Tricep Press (20lbs)

8 reps Lat Raises (10lbs)

8 reps Front Raises  (10lbs)

8 reps Rear Shoulder Flys  (15lbs)

8 reps Overhead Press  (15lbs)

4min Rounds (1st L. Spin Hook Kick; 2nd R. Spin Hook Kick)

Notice, I have already done 32 minutes of cardio (in the warm-up and between strength sets), and my goal is at least 45min, cause that is what Hugh Jackman did). But you don't have to do any cardio if you don't want to. You can just do the cardio between sets or no cardio between sets and do all 45 min of cardio after the strengthening portion - whatever works for you, whatever makes you happy and makes you feel accomplished.

Cardio For Sunday: 14min

7min Rounds (on each side) (build on if bored)

R. Hollow-Out to R. Hook punch to L. Cross Punch to R. Round Kick to R. Double Elbow Strike to L. Overhead Hammer Strike to L. Back Kick to L. Forearm Block to R. Uppercut (stomach)

10min Yoga n Stretch 

My Time (on Sunday, Jan. 25) was 79min. The strengthening circuits in total took me 55 minutes with the 2min rest and 4min MMA practice.

How-To:

Circuit 1a:

Dumbbell Bench Press (I lied on the floor)

Dumbbell Shoulder Press 

Dumbbell Behind-the-Neck Press (but I used dumbbells)

Side Kick - follow this link: http://youtu.be/S62icvCN6kM

Or this one: http://youtu.be/X7A96CgJ4GQ

 Spin Side Kick (don't do this if you've never done just the Side Kick. Perfect the Side Kick FIRST)

If you do have the Side Kick down, then Follow this tutorial: http://youtu.be/UjXVOuBDjU0

Circuit 1b:

Cuban press 

Dips (up n down)

Tricep Press (except I did on the floor)

Lat Raises 

Front Raises  

 Rear Shoulder Flys  (these are all examples of different ways this could be done)

Overhead Press 

Modified:

Lower the weights or up the weights

Beginners, I would recommend, cutting rounds in half. Or only doing one of the strenghtening circuits.

Or set a time limit (if you only have a certain amount of time to workout), like 20-32 minutes, more or less?

*Stretching is important, because helps you execute the exercises more fluidly.

At the end of this I feel great! Like a beast!

Ok, so I actually I felt tired and beat up, like I just got done fighting hard and came out victorious! But wanted to just relax and chill out. =D

Half-Done Cinnamon Roll Pie (Gluten, Dairy, Sugar, Soy, n Nut Free Free)

Whoa!

I did not see that comin'!

I followed this recipe on pintrist, but made a couple modifications from the original "Cinnamon Roll Pie" recipe done by the Earth Balance company.

And it tastes so delicious! I'd eat the whole thing at once if I could, but that would involve an exploding stomach and be no fun! 

Alas, let's get to the recipe, eh?

Here are some of the main ingredients...

For the Dough:

2 3/4 c Betty Crocker's GF All-Purpose Flour

3 T plus 1/8 c Truvia

1 t Baking Powder

1/2 t Baking Soda

2 t Apple Cider Vinegar

6 T Earth Balance Buttery Spread (with no soy version) (melted)

3/4 c Rice Milk plus more to make a nice firm ball 

           [probably 4-6 T more - I added by the tablespoon till it made the dough a nice non-crumbly ball, which I do no recollect how many more tablespoons that was. Sorry! I will try to remember next time I make em!]

For the Filling:

Heaping 3/4 Truvia

5 T All-Purpose Flour

1 T Cinnamon 

6 T Earth Balance Buttery Spread (melted)

It's really quite simple now.

Directions:

1st Mix all the ingredients for the dough. (Mix for about 1-2, maybe 3 minutes is fine too, just till the dough becomes a ball)

2nd Mix all the ingredients for the filling

3rd Roll out 2/3 of the dough (set us for top part of pie) and put in bottom of standard 9" pie pan. (I rolled the base out on the parchment paper, so I could just lift the delicate, flat dough into the pie pan and gently press the dough into pie pan more fittingly.

4th Spread about 2/3 of the filling into the base of the dough.

5th Roll Out the last 1/3 of the dough for the top part of the pie on another piece of parchment paper. And then lift the parchment paper, flip it upside on top of the filling and base-dough.

           (This part was probably the trickiest to get on, cause mine ended slightly lopsided, so I had to move it more centered. And of course, cause the flattened dough is so fragile it ripped several times during the process. But that's ok, cause it sticks back together reall nice like when gently pressed together.)

6th Bake at 400 degrees for 20min.

I cut my circles not in pie form. 

Oh! And it's called "Half-Done" cause it's sooo sweet as is without a sweet glaze to go on top.

In fact, I am considering making it less sweeter? What say you?

Daily Goals

So the need to sleep 10 hours a night is real for me! Have I been doing so? Psh! No! 

Oh, so that's one reason why my health has been suffering?

Good to know.

Drink 3-4 liters of water a day?

Yea, I need to work on that, cause I feel ten times better when I do that too!

I need to practice having self-control and REALLY know when to stop eating or not eating. Like after supper, I am done!

 Ok, I have not been doing that. And really I should. For, I have noticed that when I do, I feel loads better too, and when I don't allow myself to eat anything 3-4 hours before going to sleep helps me as well. I have also noticed I feel better not eating for at least 12 hours (of the night/sleeping hours), cause I just don't need that energy during those times. 

I read an article that Hugh Jackman when preparing for his Wolverine movies and scenes, he will fast for at least 12 hours too during the night.

"Jackman consumed 6,000 calories a day strictly between the hours of 10am and 6pm." Combined with super intense strengthening workouts and some cardio too.

Another article said:

"The Hugh Jackman Diet for Phase II: Lean Building was an intermittent fasting approach made famous by the book: The 8-Hour Diet. The Lean Building phase uses a 16/8 Intermittent Fasting diet. This is where you fast (don’t eat) for 16 hours, followed by an eight hour window where you eat 3,500-4,500 calories. The window would start right after Hugh Jackman’s morning workout."

http://www.menshealth.co.uk/food-nutrition/muscle-foods/mh-trials-hugh-jackmans-16-8-diet 

So a big marker point for me is to say that I won't eat from 8pm to 8am, in ordered to allow my body to use what it has stored up already, and to allow my digestive system to take a break, and to let my body rest and repair itself. 

Another goal is no carbs at night.

In one other article concerning Jackman:

"Carbs aren’t banned – just limited. 'I have oatmeal for breakfast, and brown rice or yams for lunch,' Jackman says. There are never any carbs after 3pm. “If you just made that one change and did nothing else, you’d lose 11lb (5kgs) in the first month,” he says." 

http://www.menshealth.co.uk/food-nutrition/muscle-foods/hugh-jackman-nutrition

These are some good baby steps, if I do say so myself. 

Re-Cap:

1. Drink 3-4 liters of water a day

2. Get 10 hours of sleep

3. No eating for at least 12-16 hours a day

4. No carbs at night, or even after 3pm

Time To Live in the Moment and Not Somewhere Else

Taking ten step backwards from where you wanted to go is no fun whatsoever! Trust me, I know. I am there right now.

A good friend of mine told me "in ordered for an arrow to be shot forward it has to be pulled back."

And I thought, "Huh! Isn't that interesting! Well. Thanks, 2014 for being one of those pulled back years!" 

Let's move forward now!

Wait, I am actually kind of scared to move forward...

So I tell myself that one quote:

Anyways!

Or maybe I've just gone on the wrong road and am now just discovering that this is not the road to be on?

Ok, actually, I lied. I was supposed to be on this road, because I have met some great new people on the way, even though I have slowly slid down the slope of self-hatred without realizing it, the people, the new friends liked me anyways!

I just don't understand how they can, especially the old friends that still like me after all the scowling and ignoring fronts I've given them this past year. I have been barely living with myself, and now I'm like, "Girl, what have you been doing? For goodness sakes, we need to stop trying to get something that is not meant for us and go for what is."

Which is giving yourself time to do what you NEED, not what you want to NEED. Accept that the want to write is not right now, or the want to watch something is not right now, and accept the need to workout is right now, or the need to write is right now, or the need to hang out with friends is right now, or the need to journal is right now, or the need to figure out the workout for tomorrow or even today is....or the need to...whatever your heart is telling you (which is God's Spirit leading my heart by faith - for I may not be able to plan out my hour by hour, because then I am not trusting God to provide me with what I need each step of the day.

Matthew 6: 25-27:

25 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life[a]?"